The Complete Encyclopaedia Arcane [BUNDLE]

As with anything that seems purely defensive, the school of abjuration is often thought to be weak. This could not be further from the truth. Magic is a powerful force, capable of slaying a healthy warrior with a single word or laying waste to an entire city. Mundane defences are incapable of repelling just force. Only the spells of abjuration offer resistance to this might, which makes abjuration the equal and opposite of offensive magic. Power and effect are not always equally evident.

Mages with a speciality in abjuration are generally careful people with a mind for defensive tactics and a strong sense of responsibility. The role of guardian often engenders in them a sense of justice and caution. This sometimes develops to the point of abjurers being overbearing in def...

Battle magic is about pushing magic to its absolute destructive limits, turning each arcane phrase into a death sentence and every claw-fingered gesture into a deadly magical assault. Make no mistake – battle magic is about mayhem and death, ensuring your opponents are made to pay for their presumption to challenge your arcane might. Whether you wish to deliver death from afar, firing off massive spells that streak through the sky and blast massive holes in the enemy lines, or want to see the look of fear in your foes’ eyes as you come screaming for their blood with your runeweave robes and spellblade, battle magic is for you.

In this book, you will find no information on how to craft intricate illusions or research spells that help your fellow adventurers see in the...

The ancient practice of blood magic has been outlawed in many civilised societies, for though it allows access to staggering levels of magical power the price can be very high. Savage tribes often respect blood magic, though even they tend to fear and avoid it where possible – its power is the stuff of legend, to be invoked only by those who expect to achieve great things or die in the attempt. A few warriors of the old school will swear blood brotherhood or other blood oaths but learning much more than that is generally the province only of primitive sorcerers or the most vile and despicable wizards. Those who go into blood magic with good intentions often find themselves seduced by its savage power, and soon want more – at whatever cost, up to and including dozens or hundr...

Chaos magic is not for the faint hearted - those unwilling or unable to maintain the daring or force of will necessary to harness great, unwieldy energies will find themselves destroyed by the very power they sought. The true unfortunates will end their days locked into forms never meant for mortal eyes, let alone mortal flesh. Many are the failed practitioners of this art, and their wildly deformed bodies and warped minds serve as living testament to the dangers inherent in tampering with the basic forces of the universe. Yet there is no shortage of those willing to throw themselves into the teeth of the storm, hoping against hope they will be the one legends speak of, the master of wild forces, a true Chaos Mage.

A forgotten art, a mystery to even the most powerful archmage, chronomancy is a dark corner of magic, in which few dare to tread. Wizards and sorcerers understand chronomancy as the simple manipulation of time through arcane magic. These ignorant fools take the sacred name of chronomancy in vain, having no idea of the forces they could unleash with their meddling. Chronomancy is far more than the control of time; in a world so vast, with so few who really understand, there can be no one to warn fools from the path. Once you open the door on chronomancy and allow its power to flow into your soul, there can be no turning back.

You hold in your hands the only true tome of chronomancy so far written. Those skilled in the arcane arts can begin to muster the powers in this book, learn...

This volume presents the first serious study of the long-neglected questions of why material components are used in spells, what logic governs their use and whether or not it is possible to change them. Looking at the typical components used in arcane spells and outlining the key principles on which they work. An exhaustive treatment of the standard arcane spells is then provided which will inject new life and creativity into spellcasting.

By daring to challenge the wisdom of the ages and use their own home-brewed recipes rather than keeping slavishly to the old ones, players may gain hitherto inaccessible levels of spell potency. Beware, however, for there is a price; he who presumes to tamper with magic must be very sure of himself, or he will cause an imbalance in the arcane...

Conjuration, the art of calling something forth from nothing, is a magic of infinite potential due simply to its very nature. To conjure is to reach past the empty spaces of this world and summon the heart’s desires from beyond. This kind of power can not be overstated or underestimated. To master conjuration is to never be alone, to never face a situation without aid. When one can instantly surround themselves with protectors, one mage can become an army at a whim.

Historically, conjurers have often been treated with awe, reverence and a mixture of fear and respect. Unfortunately, the best known conjurers have made the school infamous by virtue of their chosen summoning. Those who summon the infernal and abyssal beings of the nether realms are only a small subset of this ...

Golems wait silently in dungeon corridors, ready to apprehend unwary adventurers who dare defile their former master’s sanctum. Shield guardians follow their owners faithfully, interposing themselves between the holder of their amulet and anything that would bring him harm. Homunculi fly forth, powered by their creator’s lifeblood into a grotesque mockery of life. All of these constructs, artificial life forms brought into the world by rituals long secreted away in the corners of occult libraries, in the ruins of mighty magical empires and the personal notes of spellcasters with the curiosity to explore this field of arcane lore.

An owlbear paces round and round the dry moat encircling the wizard’s castle, seeking any creature foolish enough to have entered the moat willingly or unfortunate enough to have been thrown there by the wizard’s minions. Up in the wizard’s stables a pair of night-black pegasi nicker nervously, as they always do when they hear the owlbear’s hungry cries. Their oversized ravens’ wings are as dark as their equine coats, the feathers shining in the scant moonlight filtering in from the open stable door. From the tallest tower of the wizard’s castle spills light of a different sort, magical flames burning eternally in their iron sconces, illuminating the wizard’s workroom and those within it. The wizard runs his hand through the fur at the top of hi...

Welcome, mortal, to the Dark Road. Within these secret pages you will find the most forbidden knowledge of all - that of summoning, binding and ultimately controlling the demons, devils and fiends of the infernal planes. This book is not for the faint of heart for only the strongest of wills may dare to dabble in the blackest art of all. The perils are great and the dangers terrifying but for those willing to gamble their very souls, the rewards are far greater than any mortal can possibly conceive.

Encyclopaedia Arcane: Demonology - The Dark Road provides Games Masters and players alike with all the information they need to introduce this dangerous form of magic into their campaigns. The Demonologist character class is presented alongside those who go far deeper into the art, t...

There are many schools of magic. Some, such as Evocation, are combat oriented and the province of wizards who hurl deadly fire at their foes and wreathe the battlefield with lightning. Others, such as Transmutation, are the domain of those seeking to explore the many forms of reality and how they can be bent and reshaped. Still others are much subtler; the school of Abjuration, for example, is a generally passive art that seeks to protect both body and soul.

Divination is an art considered weak and secondary in the eyes of many who should know better. A diviner is likely to always be considered a support character at best, an annoying, second-rate wizard with nothing useful to contribute at worst. For those who take divination seriously, however, the scope of their potential is ...

Every wizard, sorcerer and bard knows deep within that his abilities are a pale imitation of the true power that dragons embody, and every new avenue of research is an attempt to find the original path of magic. Dragons continue to practice their arts, looking at the mortals trying to reach beyond their own limits with amusement, worry or admiration. Some of these magnificent beasts even teach their craft to those whom they deem worthy but they must do so with care, lest the weight of the lesson break their mortal pupils’ minds.

Even if they stumble in the dark, spellcasters have a spark that can be funnelled into a raging fire and they are able to reach in the span of decades what many dragons will not learn in a couple of centuries. The power of dragon spellcasting attra...

There are monsters in the deep, beasts whose flesh is perfect obsidian, whose eyes shine like midnight stars and who yearn to hunt again beneath the open sky. These beasts are the drow, and it is their doom to never again feel the light and warmth of the sun, until such time as the elven gods are thrown down and all their favoured children slain.

The cities of the drow spread like a cancer through the veins of the world, glittering jewels of decadence, soaked in blood and steeped in corruption. Ruled by great, matriarchal families and the will of the Dark Mother of Spiders’ clergy, these cities are cosmopolitan nightmares, home to the worst depravities imaginable and swarming with untold legions of drow.

Common arcane lore divides physical existence in four basic elements: Air, Earth, Fire and Water. By manipulating these elements, arcane spellcasters create some of the most spectacular effects of magic, raising walls of stone around them or raining fiery death upon their enemies. Unlike druids, who control nature’s resources out of a pact of mutual respect, wizards and sorcerers master the raw elemental forces without permission and, most of the times, even without acknowledgement.

By blowing creatures away or breathing underwater, all arcane spellcasters are elementalists in a way. Their knowledge, however, is limited to the strictly defined effects of spells they learn from the eight schools of magic. Beyond that basic knowledge, there are those who dare to further thei...

You wish to study enchantment with me? Are you certain you understand what it is you ask? The school of enchantment specialises in a very powerful but very personal form of magic, making people, places and things affect the minds of others in ways that can be very intimate indeed. With this magic you can make someone fall in love, pledge devotion to a task, or defend a place with his very life.

Enchantment, by its nature, is an elitist art. One cannot be set apart from others by magic, like an enchanter is over those ensnared through charms and compulsions, without becoming a little distant. Good enchanters try to use this magic responsibly. Evil enchanters revel in their ability to enslave others and force their will upon the world.

Familiars have long been a part of the arcane tradition and their fabled past has been portrayed in many a yarn, old and new. They are depicted in the tales as dedicated servants, faithful confidants, and in some cases as unwavering soul mates, but no matter how they are described one thing is certain: familiars are more than just simple companions to keep your feet warm on a cold winter’s night. They are in truth magical beings, bridges as it were, between the mages they serve and the arcane power their masters wield. Armed with this knowledge it is the aim of this tome to explore the world of the familiar and to comprehend its unfamiliar nature.

Herein shall be addressed an abundance of issues dealing with familiars and in order to give the work a coherent structure the ...

Illusionism has always been seen as a weaker form of magic, a school to be ridiculed rather than studied by most self-respecting mages. However, this book shall reveal that illusionism is neither to be scoffed at nor to be trifled with.

At its heart, illusionism is the art of deception, be it benign or malicious in nature. It alters another’s perceptions and tricks their senses. Those affected by illusions see, hear, smell, taste and feel things that are not there.

Magic items are a staple of fantasy in any form, evoking images of great deeds done, of dragons, of heroism and of terrible villainy. The true power of magic items comes not from their ability to work miracles, but from their ability to evoke wonder in all of us.

Who does not remember the first time they, at the successful conclusion of a hard-fought adventure, lifted a new sword and pulled it, glittering and smoking in the dim light, from its bejewelled sheath? Who does not recall with fondness the first time they pointed a staff, uttered a few cryptic phrases and caused the world to erupt in fire? And who does not feel a sudden thrill each and every time a simple detect magic spell wreathes the treasure in cold, blue possibility?

Throughout the civilised lands of man, dwarf and elf, the practice of necromancy is universally shunned, its knowledge suppressed and its practitioners persecuted. Only now, with the advent of Necromancy – Beyond the Grave, are the darkest secrets of this terrible and frightening magic finally revealed. One skilled in wizardry or sorcery may use this tome, for good or ill, and tap the powers inherent beyond death for their own direct benefit. For those willing to risk the wrath of a society opposed to the art, mastery of necromancy may bring the most potent of magical energies to command.

Encyclopaedia Arcane: Necromancy – Beyond the Grave provides Games Masters and players alike with all the information they need to introduce this macabre form of magic into their ca...

The wizard is an archetype of power. With courage and discipline he ventures into forbidden mysteries, learning the spells which may melt down reality and remould it closer to his heart’s desire. Once the heady heights of ninth level spellcasting are attained, the magician is believed to be at the apex of his power. However, there are those for whom this is just the beginning.

These are the sovereign mages, those who have learned the rare art of entering the soul of the land and binding their personal power to it. Not content with merely moving upon the face of the earth, they seek to become one with it; some to conquer, some to protect. By infusing their very essence into the country around them, they partake of the energies of the land, drawing upon it to achieve legenda...

Mortals look up at the midnight sky and see the stars, eternal and changeless. They have worshipped them, feared them, hidden from them and tried to understand them. They are the one constant promise that, in a world of constant chaos, there is something innately ordered and beautiful about the universe.

Star magic is a school of magic that harnesses the hidden order of the universe. In form, it is a science based on repetitive experiments and the constant expansion of knowledge. In effect, it is magic channelling energy from mysterious forces to alter the world. In application, it is poetry requiring creativity, insight and inspiration for maximum effect.

Although wizards and libraries are so often connected, very little time has been spent on exploring the function and powers of the library. Libraries usually turn up as scenic backdrops or repositories for purely magical resources, whereas there are more potentially useful books in a library than there are supplies in an adventuring gear shop. We will therefore be taking a long overdue stroll down the library aisles and finding out how to use its stored wisdom to our best advantage. Magic-using characters, who have more of a natural inclination towards reading than characters of other classes, will find an abundance of new ways to apply the knowledge set down in their books – and a whole lot of new books to go searching for!

Encyclopaedia Arcane: Nymphology - Blue Magic. This is truly the book we could never print. Ever. It is just too full of naughtiness and innuendo to appear on the shelves of your local retail store.

As such, this instalment of the Encyclopaedia Arcane, Nymphology, is only available from RPGNow.com, where you must be old enough to possess a credit card in order to purchase it. If you are easily offended by humour of a sexual nature, DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK. It will offend. We promise.

Written by Grim Jim (Slayer's Guide to Rules Lawyers and Female Gamers), Nymphology is a humorous look at the most secret arcane talent of all ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ that of Blue Magic,...

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